Being a gamer in the 90’s was exciting. Change in the gaming industry was constant with new systems coming with what seemed like every year that passed. Lets look back fondly now at some 90’s video games and take a look at 15 things only 90s gamers did. Some cool 90s retro games memories.
Fifteen 90s Retro Games Memories
Below are 15 90s retro games memories that really stick in my mind from that great era of gaming.
1. Experience the Early 90’s 16-Bit Wars
The 16-Bit wars were something else. We got two legendary consoles in the Mega Drive/Genesis and the Super Nintendo. Sega attacked Nintendo the market leader to make an impact and Nintendo fought back. I had friends who had a Mega Drive and others who had a SNES and we would swap games and pile around each other’s houses to enjoy both systems.
More 90s Gaming Memories
The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis and Super Nintendo dominated the market, gaming magazines and many a conversation with my mates. Yes, we might argue which system was best, but we were lucky enough to live through this great period of gaming.
2. Want a Neo Geo – But They Were So Expensive
I would read about the Neo Geo and its arcade perfect games in magazines like Mean Machines and Computer and Video Games and that’s about as far as my experience went. The console was expensive along with the games. I never saw one when I went shopping with my parents and nobody in my school had one so as great as they looked, they were never part of my gaming past.
The Neo Geo was often talked about among my gaming mates but always out of reach and it wasn’t until many years later that through emulation and gaming events that I would get to experience the great console. I think it is fair to say this goes for a lot of other 90s gamers too.
3. Watched Awesome 90’s Gaming Television Shows
Games World and the awesome Games Master were great gaming TV shows that we haven’t really seen since. Growing up I watched both and Games Master has always been my favourite of the two. The kids might have Twitch and YouTube now but back in the day we got to witness 90’s video games for the first time on these great gaming TV shows.
Take a Look at the Top 25 Personal Computer Games of the 90s
8 Best CRT TVs for Retro Gaming
4. Experienced Sonic The Hedgehog for The First Time
You will never replicate the first time I saw Sonic the Hedgehog. I was used to playing games on legendary Commodore 64 and Nintendo Entertainment System but seeing that Blue Hedgehog for the first time in Dixons at the age of 13 was something else. It was amazing and an experience only gamers of a similar age will understand. All of whom experienced these 90’s games when they first came out in the 1990’s!
Sonic is such a mainstream staple of gaming now but to experience and see the game for the first time in 1991 is not something you can ever repeat. With one blue flash Super Mario suddenly had some competition.
5. Possibly Buy Questionable 90’s Video Game Consoles
There are so many classic 90’s retro games and systems but let’s not forget that there were some consoles that were a complete failure too. Today I don’t think you would see such releases like we saw from Commodore and Amstrad in the C64GS and the GX4000. These two companies were at the forefront of the 8-bit home computer gaming industry in the 1980’s but in the early 90’s they were desperately trying to catch up with Nintendo and Sega. They both failed.
Saying that though the Commodore 64GS is now highly collectible with the GX4000 going up in value too as every year passes.
6. Experience the First Video Game Movies in the 1990’s
We got Street Fighter the movie and Super Mario Bros in the 90s which weren’t great. We also got Mortal Kombat which was a little better. I can remember renting these on VHS and not exactly being blown away by them. 90s gamers got to experience Hollywood’s first shot at making gaming based movies to mixed results.
7. Only Know Grand Theft Auto as a Top Down Game
Top down GTA was all we knew in the late 1990’s. The behemoth franchise was experienced first by 90s gamers on the Sony PlayStation and PC. These 90’s Games were a lot of fun and we didn’t know back then just how popular and influential GTA was going to become.
9. Experience A Decade Where Gaming Changed Constantly
As I mention in the intro to this article gaming changed constantly in the 1990s. I started the decade in an 8-bit world playing Super Mario and aware of the 16-bit revolution around the corner. What I didn’t realise was just how many new systems I would come across in the next 10 years leading up to the new millennium. Change was constant and, in our house, crikey did we see some gaming systems. NES, Master System, Gameboy, Mega Drive, SNES, PlayStation, N64 and Dreamcast just to name some!
10. Became Intrigued by What Was Happening in Japan
In the 1980s to be fair I was young and was more interested in what my mates were playing but once I started reading gaming mags properly from 89 and into the 90s it very quickly became clear that Japan was where it was happening. This was the same for many gamers in the 90s across the UK as what was happening in Japan was probably going to end up on our shores. From this the import scene started which is still going strong to this day.
11. Read Some Cool Console Magazines
My favourites were Mean Machines and Computer and Video Games but in the 90s there were a great selection of gaming magazines to enjoy. New magazines were released constantly, and some lasted longer than others, but it was great way to learn about new games in a pre-internet age.
You can read more about my Mean Machine Magazine memories here.
You can also find my Julian Jaz Rignall interview here too.
12. Meeting Lara Croft for the First Time
Another iconic game character and one that we got to experience first in the 90’s. The first Tomb Raider game felt huge and immersive and I can still remember playing it for the first time having borrowed it for a weekend from a work mate. Who would ever forget coming across that T-Rex too for the first time!
Along with other landmark titles such as Resident Evil this game really gave Playstation owners hours of gaming fun with great characters and stories.
13. Experience the Last Great Arcade Era
This is my opinion, but I would say the early 90s was probably the last great era of arcade gaming. The Mega Drive/Genesis got very close to arcade perfect conversion whereas the Neo Geo achieved it at a cost and the SNES would get very close too. Although the 16-bit machines were a revelation they still couldn’t top playing such games Turtles, the Simpsons, Final Fight and WWF Wrestlefest in the arcade with your mates or siblings. Street Fighter 2 and Mortal Kombat among others kept things exciting in arcades but within years they would soon change forever.
14. Probably Didn’t Realise How Much They Might Miss Their Collection
Back in the late 90’s a lot of my consoles and games got put away in a cupboard and would only come out sporadically. The ever changing and improving systems meant a lot of people looked forward and for some us it would be quite a few years before we started looking back. As I grew up I had less time for gaming but that eventually did change. When I went looking for my old gaming stuff it had been lost. Back at the end of the 90’s a lot of my old systems didn’t seem that important and that was a foolish mistake on my part.
You can find out how I re started my 90s Retro Games Collection here.
15. Probably Didn’t Realise the Value of Their Collection
Along with missing my collection I never realised how certain games and systems would be valued today. I can remember a time when SNES games were really cheap and if I knew then what I know I certainly would have looked after things a lot better than what I did. When you speak to people now and they discuss what they had and played back in the 90s it can be surprising to them what it might cost to buy those 90s retro games and systems today.
So There You Go My 90’s Game Memories…
I hope you’ve enjoyed some of these 90’s retro game memories. The 90’s was an exciting decade culturally for music, film and the arts but for gaming it was one of constant change and I’m not sure if we will see a decade like it ever again.
Thanks for stopping by. Keep it retro!
Daz
For more 80’s and 90’s memories, take a look at these articles…
Garbage Pail Kids – I Loved These Cards
Onken Frufoo the Yoghurt that Came with a Toy
About The Author
